


It's Nice to Feel Needed

by Cowboy_Sneep_Dip



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 01:29:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11544603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip/pseuds/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip
Summary: Left alone together while Alm and his friends scout ahead, Faye and Silque find themselves butting heads.





	It's Nice to Feel Needed

“He’ll be back. I know he will.” Faye paced around the makeshift camp, her eyes darting back and forth, peering into the depths of the forest. White sunlight cascaded through the canopy, casting long shadows across the now-smoldering fire. Silque knelt, stoking it gently, humming. Faye nervously fingered her bowstring.

“He said he’d be back before noon.”

Silque stopped humming and looked up. “It’s okay, Faye. He’s with the others. Sir Alm can take care of himself.”

“Yeah, I know, but…” Faye flopped down onto a crude wooden bench they had fashioned from two stumps and an old wooden board. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.”

“Mother Mila will provide,” Silque said almost automatically. Faye frowned at her.

“You’re always going on about that,” she said, almost annoyed. “Mother this, mother that…don’t you ever talk about anything else?”

“Well,” Silque said calmly, standing up. “You only ever seem to talk about Sir Alm. Maybe you shouldn’t be one to criticize someone who devotes themselves wholly to another.”

Faye scoffed. “It’s different. Alm and I have been friends since childhood. He’s so brave and strong, and I can’t help but be enamored. What has your ‘mother’ done for you? When we found you, you-“

“Doesn’t that prove my point? The mother saw fit to send you to my aid in my time of need.”

Faye seethed. “I’m going to look for something to eat.” She picked up her bow and stalked off into the woods.

“W-wait!” Silque called out, reaching for Faye. “Come back! We’re supposed to wait here!” She watched as the bobbing blonde head of hair disappeared into the thick underbrush. She sat down again and pouted.

_Dammit, Silque. You keep doing this!_ She reprimanded herself. _You’re never going to make friends with her if you keep making her angry like this._ She smoothed out a wrinkle in her blue skirt.

_Stupid Alm. I don’t see why he’s so great. He’s just like all the other soldiers. I don’t see what makes him so worth of infatuation._ She wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in her skirts.

It had taken some time, but as they traveled together Silque had found herself strangely drawn to Faye. The two were the only women in Alm’s company, so naturally they found themselves together a lot. They shared a tent, they often bathed together, and they even found themselves in similar supporting combat roles – Silque hanging back and healing and Faye using her bow to pick at enemies from afar. As they spent more and more time together, Silque began to desire Faye’s company more often. She felt herself blushing into her legs, a mixture of embarrassment and frustration painting her face.

_Stupid Silque. Faye probably isn’t even…like that_.

Alm had been the sticking point, of course. Faye was devoted to him with a zealous fervor, a quirk that quickly went from admirable to endearing to frustrating to infuriating. And now, realizing that her pining was almost definitely a dead end, Silque found herself bitter and resentful towards not just Alm, but Faye as well.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to steel herself. It was even worse knowing that Faye’s love was destined to be one-sided, Alm being himself devoted to Celica. _Who would have expected such drama from an army?_ Silque frowned. _Why can’t she just see that I’m –_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shriek echoing through the woods. The piercing sound sent a flock of birds scattering from the trees, cawing and fluttering.

_Faye!_ Silque leapt to her feet and grabbed her spellbook. She kicked a shower of dirt over the almost-extinguished fire and rushed off into the woods in the direction of the sound. She stumbled a bit, her cleric attire not really suited to quick traversal, and almost collided headfirst with a tree. She dodged at the last second, her white silk headpiece fluttering as she ran.

She heard another shriek and she redirected her path. _That was definitely Faye!_

Silque passed by a few trees studded with arrows, the same type Faye used with her bow. She ran forward with renewed vigor.

She finally emerged into a clearing, a rocky outcropping bordered by a fast-flowing stream. The first thing Silque noticed were the terrors. A cluster of gargoyles squealed and howled, their claws whipping through the air in a frenzy.

Faye stood above them on the stone outcropping, her dress torn, one boot missing. An empty quiver rested beside her as she weakly swung her bow like a club, trying in vain to beat back the encroaching monsters. Her back was to the stream. She was cornered.

“Faye!” Silque cried out, trying to get her attention and get the gargoyles away from her. “I’m here!”

“Silque!” Faye grunted as her bow connected with a gargoyle’s thick torso. “Thank god! Please, you have to help!”

Silque quickly fumbled through the pages of her spellbook, landing on a usable one before loosing a bolt of black magic into the crowd of terrors. One let out a terrible scream as it felt its life force draining away.

Faye took advantage of the situation and swung her bow again, this time breaking it over the gargoyle’s head. It collapsed to the ground with a satisfying thud. Faye swore and dropped the broken pieces of her bow.

“Silque, can’t you do something?!”

“Jump in the stream!” Silque suggested, trying to flip through her book once more. _It’s here somewhere, I know it is…_

“I can’t swim!” Faye cried, a note of genuine panic in her voice. She cried out in pain as a monster slashed at her, barely catching the hem of her dress. She staggered backwards. Another monster lunged, its claws grasping her leg. She fell backwards and tumbled down the rocky ledge, letting out gasps of pain as she hit against the rocks. She and the gargoyle both fell into the stream with a splash.

Silque dropped her book and ran, trailing her gear behind her and undressing as she darted for the stream. She dove forward without hesitation and plunged into the stream.

The water was freezing cold and fast-moving, and Silque let out a bubbly gasp of breath as she entered. She had stripped down to her underclothes and now the murky water began to seep into her shirt and underwear. She opened her eyes, looking into the darkness of the water, trying to see – aha!

She swam forward, reaching out for Faye’s flailing arms. The gargoyle evidently couldn’t swim either, but it had Faye tight in its grip, pulling her down to the depths of the streambed. Silque grabbed onto Faye and kicked it’s hand, her bare foot sliding on the rough, scaly claw. She kicked again. She could feel Faye struggling, desperately trying to get to the surface for air. A final kick dislodged the monster and it sank down into the water.

With all her might, Silque pushed Faye to the surface. She broke the water, gasping and coughing, Silque bobbing up next to her only moments later. Faye shuddered and flailed about, still panicking.

“Shh,” Silque tried calming her, treading water and reaching out to support Faye. “It’s okay!” The water continued pushing them downstream, away from the cluster of terrors. “We’re safe!”

“Maybe YOU are!” Faye sputtered again, catching a lungful of water, which she promptly coughed out.

Silque wrapped one arm around Faye and kicked with her legs, surprisingly powerful for her slight frame. “Look!” she called out. “There’s that bank up ahead. We can get out there.” Faye nodded, waterlogged and exhausted.

Silque kicked again, struggling to both keep Faye afloat and steer towards the shore. At long last, she pulled Faye from the water and the two collapsed on the muddy bank, breathing heavily. Faye lay on her back, coughing up water. Silque lay next to her on her side, one arm draped loosely over Faye’s stomach, the other supporting her own head in a reclining position.

They lay in silence for a while, breathing heavily. Silque drooped her head slightly, her dazed eyes wandering to Faye’s flushed cheeks, only inches away. She parted her lips slightly and dared to inch closer. Faye turned, her wide brown eyes staring into Silque’s. Now instead of her cheek, Silque realized her lips were nearly touching Faye’s.

Simultaneously, the two realized the position they were in and hurried to separate. Silque coughed, a deep blush spreading across her face as she tried to cover herself. Faye sat up and scooted back, also red-faced.

“T-thanks, Silque,” she mumbled, eyes boring holes in the sandy shore. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

“N-no problem,” Silque responded, her teeth chattering. “I-it’s a little c-cold, isn’t it?” she tried giving a wry smile.

Faye nodded.

“Y-you shouldn’t keep wet clothes on,” Silque suggested, motioning to Faye’s soaked and tattered dress. “It c-could cause h-h-hypo-hypothermia.” She rubbed her arms, trying to stimulate heat.

Faye nodded again, still slightly dazed. Silque helped undo her lace-up top and brown cloak. “I-I’ll hang these up to dry,” she said, dangling them on a nearby tree. As she was hanging the clothes, she felt Faye embrace her from behind, her slender arms wrapping around her tightly. SIlque put a hand on Faye’s.

“I’m sorry,” Faye mumbled into her back.

“For what?”

“For making fun of you. If I hadn’t gotten mad and stormed off, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“It’s okay,” Silque turned and embraced Faye. “It’s in the past. The important thing is that you’re okay.” Silque closed her eyes and sighed, savoring the moment, knowing an embrace like this might never come again. Faye’s hair smelled like damp and mud, but Silque could swear she detected whiffs of perfume – citrus, maybe? She rested her head on top of Faye’s.

“Y-you’re warm,” Faye said quietly.

“Huddling is a good way to stave off the chills until we dry off,” Silque agreed.

“T-then, can we stay like this for a bit?” Faye nestled into Silque.

Silque nodded, smiling kindly. “I think we can.” The two stood together on the wooded bank, entwined, the soft afternoon silence enveloping them. Faye closed her eyes.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in love with Faye/Silque and will probably write a bunch more of them in the future! This was just sort of a warm-up/practice piece.


End file.
